Kali Dearest
by Amy Joffrion
Summary: Kalina Dearing is the youngest of the Dearing girls. She was an amazing athlete, a dedicated student, and a loving friend, but that was before the accident that killed both of her parents. Now Kali's only option is to move in with Claire.
1. Prologue

The funeral was nothing but a blurry memory of Karen crying and Claire trying to hug her over Zach's unborn sibling. A black hood hung low over my pastel pink hair and a pair of headphones blasted sad rock songs. The pain in my left leg- still recovering in the places where the bone shattered all those months ago- made it easy to keep an upset face as I tried to balance on my functional side. Even with my facade going strong, I didn't last more than a couple of minutes into the ceremony.

Normally I had track at that hour and I would go home with my best friend afterward. School was still in session, keeping Elise away from me for at least a few more hours. There was nothing to do, so I limped home to think about what would happen next.

Our parents had been dead long before the accident; their pulses only needed to stop as a formality. Karen and Claire were too busy to know how bad it had gotten; I never intended to tell either of them in one of our rushed phone calls. My sisters were the only family I had left and the option to leave me had disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. I wasn't sure I was ok with a forced relationship with them.

This realization dawned on me as I reached the neighborhood I had lived in my entire life: a chunk of pavement crammed full of trailers decked out with ghetto Christmas lights and knocked up strays. It only took one look to see why my sisters sought out good pay then never turned back. I struggled up the steps where my loyal husky-mutt sat waiting for me just inside the front door. Tibbers brought a smile to my face despite the situation. He followed me to our small bedroom and watched as I dragged out a suitcase that had almost never been used. What few belongings I had didn't require an abundance of space in the bag.

After I finished packing, I brought Tibbers to the couch in the living room-the only comfortable furniture we owned- and cuddled him while I waited. The moment the front door opened, I was sandwiched in a group hug by my sisters. Tibbers managed a growl as he recoiled from the family that he didn't know were friends. Zach awkwardly waited by his mother and eyeballed my vibrant hair. Thankfully the loving gesture didn't last very long because I wasn't sure how to react.

"We're sorry Kali," Karen whimpered. A new wave of tears broke out across her cheeks.

"What are you sorry for? Neither of you have done anything to me," I replied, partially in shock at receiving an apology. Our oldest sister got choked up when she tried to answer, so Claire spoke for her.

"We left you here for so many years without looking after you or mom and dad. Both of us got caught up in our own lives."

I shrugged before asking a new question," What do we do now?"

"We need to decide who you're going to live with. I could share my apartment at the park if you like," Claire offered.

"You're always welcome in my home if that's where you want to stay," Karen added. The oldest of us began to dry her tears and catch her breath.

"I want to live with Elise," I declared firmly.

Both sisters appeared confused and exchanged a look of disapproval.

"Who?" Claire asked.

"Elise Dreamblossom, my best friend since third grade," I clarified.

"I wouldn't feel safe leaving my little sister with a family that we've never met. Besides, friendships don't always work out... It's a long way to come get you if living with her didn't go well," Karen explained.

If I was as spiteful as most teenagers, I would have pointed out that they were comfortable abandoning me with dysfunctional parents, but that wasn't my style. I could tell by the looks on their faces that neither of them were going for the idea. With a sigh, I let go of my only hope of staying in our hometown.

My eyes wondered to Zach, who was still infatuated with my hair. Then I thought about the few months of silent nights that Karen had left before the new terror came to disrupt them. Claire was dedicated to her work anyway; it was likely she would leave me alone after I moved in. All of these thoughts crossed my mind in a matter of seconds and I think we were all startled by the speed of my decision.

"Fine, I'll live with Claire, but I have a few conditions."

The younger of my sisters tilted her head, but had no more time to react before I continued.

"First, I'm bringing Tibbers. Second, I want to spend my last night with Elise. Third, I want a job at the park, even if it's something minor."

Claire opened her mouth to object for a moment before she gave me a laughing nod. I let out a tiny breath that I hadn't realized I was holding.

"I'll put my suitcase in the car before I go. Elise lives next door," I concluded. My sisters were surprised to see me reappear within minutes with fully packed luggage.


	2. Chapter 1

We traveled to Jurassic World in a company-owned ferry taking workers to and from the island. Tibbers stood at the edge of the rail looking out at the water. I'm sure he was thinking about taking his chances swimming to shore as opposed to being around so many humans. I might have put serious thought into joining him if he had dared such a bold jump.

Claire said the park wasn't open to the public yet, so naturally I expected most attractions to be under construction with plenty of people around to work on building everything. While theme parks didn't particularly interest me, the dinosaur part was intriguing. Animals were a love of mine, I didn't mind if the ones in question were a few million years old.

Isla Nublar came looming over the horizon like a gentle giant. From a mile or so away I noticed a huge set of steps and welcome signs. Where I thought there would be construction workers building the park, there was no one. Claire awkwardly held Tibbers' leash as I struggled to limp up the stairs in my obnoxious boot cast. She had offered to carry my suitcase, but I politely declined. I broke a light sweat that made me greatful for the air conditioning once we reached the monorail.

Tibbers stayed between my legs whimpering during the ride and I was so busy worrying over him that I didn't notice most of the scenery pass by. I looked up just in time to see the gates opening for the monorail. The awe was all over my face. It wasn't difficult to recall pictures from the news of how the same entrance looked at the original Jurassic Park; the story had gone viral not long after the incident.

What was beyond the gate was the eerie part: a finished theme park sat almost completely empty. The restraunts were already open for business, but the action was limited aside from that.

"Most of the dinosaurs haven't hatched yet. Mr. Masrani, the owner, wanted construction finished in advance," Claire explained as if she had read my thoughts.

My sister led me to a building behind the gigantic hotel that was identical to the first in everything but size. Instead of a lobby, the apartment building had a makeshift mailroom and a desk with an absent owner. Thankfully, there was an elevator as opposed to more stairs. Tibbers whined about the unfamiliar feeling of rising several floors, but I didn't pity him after the struggle I had on the first set of steps. Each vibrantly colored door in the hallway was identical except the printed numbers on the doorways.

The inside of the apartment looked like a designer had taken residence in my sister's home. Every piece of furniture was perfectly coordinated and every color in the room was neutral, but pretty. Once again I was lucky enough to have a room designated to sharing with Tibbers. Upon seeing my perfectly furnished space, I thanked Claire for letting me stay with her and hugged her tightly. The discomfort was easily visible on my sister's face, but she returned my embrace in her own cold way.

Claire's phone rang and she stepped outside my bedroom to answer the call. Then I noticed the only thing I didn't like about the apartment: all the windows faced the back of the hotel. I tossed my suitcase onto the bed and tugged open the zipper.

"Kali I have to get going. I'll be back around seven tonight," Claire explained.

I waved at her without looking up from unpacking my bag. She needed no more goodbye than that. The front door shut a few seconds afterward. With a mischevious grin, I leaned toward the window and watched Claire until she disappeared from my sight.

Within minutes I was out the door carrying only my cell phone and a few dollars for food. There wasn't any real plan, I just wanted to explore the resort. I searched the tank that all the buildings were centered around, but I couldn't see anything living in the water. From the way the thousands of seats were aligned, some sort of show was going to take place there. The set up reminded me of the shows done at SeaWorld and I cringed a little before moving on.

The t-rex paddock was fairly large, but I spotted her within a few moments of being in the tube hallway that led straight through the enclosure. If there had been any real trees on the inside, the t-rex had flattened them until only scrubby short foliage remained. Deep white scars lined her neck and back where a smaller opponent had jumped her in the distant past.

I proceded to explore until I ran out of attractions with life in them- which took the majority of my day even though half of the dinosaurs hadn't hatched yet. By the time I finished looking around, I was hungry. Dairy Queen sounded good, so I went in and ordered a meal that could probably feed two people with average appetites. As I was walking away from the counter with a tray full of food, I almost bumped into a chubby man with graying hair.

"Aren't young women suppose to watch their weight?" the man questioned as he stared at the large order I carried.

"Aren't old geezers suppose to take viagra and pretend they know what attractive women look like?" I hissed with a slight glare.

The seat nearest the windows had my name on it. Maybe the theme park wasn't empty enough after all. Reguardless, I dug into my meal and enjoyed every last bite. Although I hadn't been able to run in months, track was the sole root of my eating capabilities. I leaned back against the chair to give my food a chance to digest. For a moment, I glanced down at my disappearing six-pack as if it would turn to fat that second. _Maybe the geezer was right, I should lay off the gigantic meals before people start asking me if I'm pregnant_ , I thought to myself.

With that thought in mind, I glanced out the window and spotted one of the few attractions that I hadn't visited: the hatchery. I sauntered over and tried the glass front door, which was conveniently unlocked. _It must be alright to go inside then_ , I thought to myself. Everything was white, clean, and sciency, much like a hospital. The entire place looked like a shot from a science fiction movie set. Eggs as small as a finger nail or as large as a mini refrigerator sat under heat lamps with qr codes printed on the shells. Scientists were working in several of the rooms, oblivious to me exploring the empty halls.

Eventually I came to a lab that was unlike the rest; there were no scientist droves doing odd jobs or an abundance of unborn dinosaurs all over the place. Instead there was only one heat lamp with four fist-sized eggs beneath it. A little voice in my head said I shouldn't go for a closer look, but my curiousity won out. Yet another door that wasn't meant to be unlocked was left open probably by careless mistake.

A soft tapping noise greeted my ears as I wandered toward the heat lamp. I made a full circle around the eggs, but there were no cracks in the shells. All four seemed to vibrate and shake as the little creatures inside moved.

Suddenly a pig like noise came from one corner of the lab and I almost fell over my injured leg trying to turn toward the sound. Thankfully, it was only a snore from an unkept brunette man sleeping in a stiff-looking chair. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I retreated behind the heat lamp. The soft taps soon became rough thumps and tiny cracks appeared on the surface of two of the eggs.

Butterflies of excitement swelled up in my chest as little claws appeared from within the shell, then tiny green legs, then noses and sharp teeth. Before I had a chance to process the reality of what I was seeing, two bright green baby raptors had rolled out of their eggs to peer at me through big inquisitive eyes that they would have to grow into. In the pictures I recalled, the dinosaurs had dull boring skin, but the raptors definitely differed. Everything about them was friendly, vibrant, and child-like. The two babies made a strange noise that reminded me of the way cats purr.

Within a few moments, another egg began to crack so violently that it thumped against the glass of the heat lamp. The noise woke the man sleeping in the corner and he began to stretch. I ducked behind the lamp as best I could with my injured leg. Suddenly I remembered I wasn't suppose to be there and eyed the door. It was then I realized why the scientists hadn't noticed me before: the inside of the lab was made of one-way glass. I stared into my own reflection with wide nervous eyes, hoping the man would be too preoccupied with the hatching raptors to notice me.

The man spoke to the raptors in a gentle tone that gave me hope that he might not have me arrested for being there. He was obviously excited to see two of the dinos already born and two on the way. The way he acted betrayed the exhausted state he was in. Breaking eggshells dominated his voice until each of the four babies had broken free. For the longest he watched them from where he stood while he talked to them. He eventually got into a conversation with himself about naming the raptors. The last out of her egg was easy to decide, he immediately called her Blue. Charlie took him about fifteen minutes to pick out, a quarter of an hour that he debated with himself. Finally it came down to naming my raptors. I found myself shaking my head or cheering about the suggestions I did or didn't like, even though I knew he couldn't see me. Echo and Delta were my favorites out of the hour he spent spitting names into the air. Strangely enough, the man called the raptors those very names. I celebrated with cheers and silent clapping.

In yet another moment where I'd forgotten how serious the circumstances could get in a couple of seconds, the door opened and a pair of emerald contacts met my startled eyes. As if she had never seen me, the scientist met the man beside the heat lamp and took in the sight of the baby raptors.

"They're cute. Got names yet?" she questioned.

The overly excited man pointed out each one with its new label. The woman nodded at every name in approval.

"I heard these guys have been at it since nine yesterday night when some idiot called you in early. Go home and get some sleep for today," she declared.

"Thanks Danny," he replied with a yawn. It was the first I had noticed him get tired after he woke up to such excitement. I scooted around the heat lamp as the man headed for the door.

"Hey Owen, wait," she called after him. He stopped and glanced back from his position in the half open doorway.

"Leave your shirt, they need to get to know your smell," the woman explained. The grungy man tugged off his t-shirt to reveal tone muscles and naturally tanned skin. Even though he looked like someone dragged him straight out of a biker bar, the dude was undeniably attractive.

"I knew you wanted me out of my clothes," he quipped before he tossed his shirt at her giggling face and left.

A few seconds passed before I glanced up to meet the colored contacts judging me from several feet away. Only then did I notice her matching mint hair and dark creamy skin that would have clashed on almost anyone else. She was beautiful, colorful, but she also didn't sell me out, which made her twice as cool in my book.

"Nobody has ever broke into the Jurassic World hatchery," she said.

I prepared myself for whatever consequences the woman could think up.

"I like your spark... and your hair is pretty nice too. Want to see something else cool or are you done sneaking around for today?" she asked.

The shock was splattered all over my expression and the look on my face caused her to burst into a fit of laughter. For a few moments she tried to suppress her giggles as she dropped the man's shirt to the raptors and offered out a hand to help me off the floor. Reluctantly I let her pull me up, still suspicious that she was going to have me sent away from the island.

"My name is Danielle by the way, but everyone just calls me Danny," the woman announced as she shook my hand that she took to help me up.

"Kali Dearing. I just got to Isla Nublar this morning and I didn't really have anything to do while my sister was at work, so I thought I'd look around," I explained.

"You're Claire's little sister?" Danny asked. I nodded without questioning how she knew my sibling.

"I don't know her personally, but she's hot," Danny exclaimed with a grin.

"She isn't attracted to anything living or breathing," I stated as a cringe effortlessly spread across my features. My sister dating was a disgusting idea; Claire was less involved with people than I was.

Danny looked a little disappointed at this new found information, but she picked right back up. I was watching the raptors snuggle into the shirt as their claws tore into the material when Danny tugged me out of the lab by my arm. Echo and Delta stared after me as I was half dragged to the hallway and I couldn't help feeling guilty about leaving them.

"You gotta see this other thing I have in the lab right now. None of the scientists can appreciate how _awesome_ it is," Danny gushed.

She rushed into another mostly empty room with me at her side. Three men in lab coats sat around the edges of a kid's pool with clipboards and each of them glanced up when the door came flying open.

"Take a break guys, I got it from here," Danny announced. The three men rose to leave and two were out the door when the last one looked at me through elevator eyes.

"Who's this?" he asked with a stare in my direction.

"Claire's little sister. She just got here this morning, _I'm_ giving her a tour of the hatchery," Danny proclaimed, almost proudly.

After that we were left alone with a kid's pool that made splashing noises every couple of seconds. I peered over the edge to see what appeared to be a baby crocodile with flippers instead of legs casually paddling in lazy circles. It wasn't much bigger than the raptors if you didn't count the tail. The urge to pick up the strange little creature came over me like a wave and Danny stared in my direction as if she was reading my mind.

"Don't tell anybody, but I usually sit in the pool with her at night when most people have gone home. I named her Mosa."

I glanced at her little teeth that already looked sharp enough to pierce flesh.

"Doesn't she bite you?" I questioned.

"Sometimes, but she isn't big enough to do any serious damage yet," Danny explained.

Danny pulled up the sleeve of her lab coat to reveal a couple of bad tattoos and several scabbed over bite marks that were still a puffy pink. Some of her wounds looked like they were deep. She rolled her sleeve back into the neat state it started out in.

"How big will she get?" I asked curiously.

"You seen the tank in the middle of the resort?"

I nodded in response without fully connecting the dots in my head.

"It's for Mosa," Danny clarified.

Suddenly Mosa was only cute because of her age and it scared me a little to think such a tiny creature could grow to the size of a whale.

"You should come see her one night before she outgrows visitation," Danny concluded without specifying the meaning behind the statement. I hoped she didn't mean Mosa could seriously hurt someone, but we _were_ talking about a dinosaur.

Once the men came back from their break, Danny showed me several of the less impressive dinosaurs that were mostly a few days old. During the entire tour, I caught my thoughts drifting back to the two raptors that were the first babies I had seen crawl out of their eggs. Danny never ran out of hype for the animals in her lab and I could tell we were going to be great friends.

Eventually it was time to leave for the evening. I promised Danny I would put in a good word with Claire and wished her an easy night with Mosa. Sunset threw brilliant colors across the sky above the empty park. The sounds of my raptors echoed in my head as I walked to Claire's apartment. I thought my sister might be upset that I left without her permission, but I found that she hadn't made it home by seven after all.

Tibbers had waited patiently for my return, partially because he wanted dinner. I put on a rock playlist while I made dinner for three. I ate with the mutt and put Claire's away for later. The couch called my name, but Tibbers decided to sit on me feet to whine.

"What?" I asked irritably. He knew it was annoying when he sat on things I needed.

The mutt didn't budge, but instead whined again.

I rolled my eyes and maneuvered around him. Before I noticed what he was doing, he ran under my feet as I walked. Knocking me face down onto the floor was definitely effective in getting my attention, but it wasn't productive other than that. Lazily, I flipped onto my back and stared up at Tibbers, who took a seat on my stomach.

"Can you not?" I asked in a sarcastic tone.

Suddenly I realized I hadn't unpacked my bag with Tibbers' favorite toy inside. I tried to get to my feet, but the mutt was heavy and stubborn.

"Get off," I commanded as Tibbers climbed off of me.

Tiny whines and pouts followed my feet every step to my suitcase. I dug through my clothes to produce the awkwardly proportioned blue teddy bear that was missing an arm. Tibbers was immediately cheered up and took the toy from me like a small child.

"Six years old and still a puppy," I snorted to myself. Despite my sass, there was no denying how cute his behavior was.

I returned to unpacking my clothes into my closet until there was only a bulging envelope in the bottom of the bag. The content was no mystery to me, so I opened it and dumped a hollow little object into my palm. Elise had given the resonating chamber to me the night before I left. Back then I had no idea I would actually find out what a raptor would sound like up close.

Out of curiosity, I held the chamber to my lips and blew. The strange sound that was produced was much deeper than the baby raptor's purrs and chirps. I felt like a child that discovered a new infatuation and I quietly wondered if Danny would let me see Echo and Delta the next morning.

* * *

 **Thank you guys for the kind reviews, favorites, and follows.**

 **Now might also be a good time to say that there will be spoilers in the future,**

 **so don't keep reading if you haven't seen the movie!**

 **The fic starts out before the movie timeline begins, but**

 **I will be going through the movie plot as I get there with my own adaptations.**

 **Updates will be about weekly from now on.**

 **I hope you enjoy :)**


	3. Chapter 2

Mosa's tough hide felt like leather against my outstretched palm. Ripples sent little waves of pool water toward the surfaces around the baby mosasaur. The lights in the lab were dimmed to mimic the setting sun outside. Danny and I sat in our bikinis with the depth of the water meeting our belly buttons- or rather mine, since I was short. We conversed quietly as Mosa swam in gentle circles above our legs. Almost a week had passed since I first arrived on Isla Nublar and the young mosasaur was already getting close to outgrowing her temporary enclosure.

I had spent several nights in the pool with Danny and with each I grew more comfortable around Mosa. At first I was nervous to even stick a toe into the water, but my scientist friend had insisted that I show up in a swimsuit ready to jump in. What I thought would be a complicated little creature made herself quite clear about the things she wanted. Although Mosa had never so much as laid her teeth against my skin, her warning snips and growls were clear when she finally sent them in our direction: "Don't touch my tail" or "I don't want you here right now" or a variety of other messages that were easy to interpret.

Occasionally Danny would bring out a baseball for Mosa to play with if the stubborn baby wasn't in the mood for affection, but on that day we were all content with lounging in the water until time for bed.

"Do you think Owen is gone for the day yet?" I wondered aloud.

"He's probably leaving right about now. Those raptors are like his kids," Danny replied as she gave Mosa a thoughtful stroke.

I sighed heavily at her answer. My days practically revolved around waiting for Owen to leave my babies so I could take a turn without him knowing or interfering. If the man was dedicated to anything at all it was the raptors; he even brought his meals in a lunch box that he kept in the hallway. A couple of times Owen had been so very insistent that he was staying until the last possible second that I began taking his dinner and feeding it to Danny just to make sure he left early.

"You can't avoid him forever," the green-haired girl stated passively.

Danny reached for a plastic container on a nearby table and popped the top off onto the floor. Her nimble fingers plucked one of the strips of chicken out so she could hold it a foot or two out of the water. Mosa made a circle around the pool to gain speed and propel herself high enough to reach the prize without taking any fingers. Danny offered the remaining meat to me and helped herself to a few servings of macaroni.

"Not much of a cook," I remarked as I nibbled on the one piece of chicken that I wasn't busy sharing with Mosa. It wasn't difficult to assume the meat had come from a package out of a freezer tossed carelessly into a microwave.

"I'm not complaining about having food"-Danny crammed in a mouthful of pasta before continuing-"but don't you think Owen has noticed that something is up? I mean, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and you're trying to starve him. He's probably running out of dishes too."

Danny was right. There was no way a grown man wouldn't be able to figure out what I was doing, but how was I supposed to face him about dinosaurs that he clearly had a strong bond with? I had no intention of answering the question without serious thought and plenty of time, so I climbed out of Mosa's pool to dry off. My pants weren't on the table where I thought I had put them, but I assumed I would find them the next day wherever I had misplaced my clothes.

"Whatever. He's probably gone now anyway. I'm going to see the girls," I declared. My calm voice was a nice cover for the anxiety beneath it. People had never been a strong point of mine, much less attractive men.

I was down the hall within a couple of minutes, a time I was proud of considering my cast had become a thing of the past. According to the doctors, a limp was permanent in my case and I would never be as fast as I once was. Their words were nothing but statistics of past patients that I would have to find a way to overcome. At that moment my main concern was Owen stubbornly spending time with the raptors and sharing a family sized bag of Doritos.

"Eyes up," Owen ordered.

To my surprise, the girls obeyed for a few seconds. Their heads tilted upward and their big eyes stared at the grungy man. As a reward, he tossed each of them a chip. After they finished munching on their snack, all four raptors rushed to climb onto Owen. They were cuddling him. He didn't look like he disliked the way he was being treated either. The girls' claws drew bloody, dripping, scratches up and down his arms, but Owen was too infatuated to notice.

For what seemed like forever, Owen sat there with Echo on his head, Charlie on one shoulder, and the last two in his arms like babies. Part of me wished a had a camera; a "family" picture was an opportunity that I didn't want to pass up. Finally he gathered up the girls to give them a good night hug before setting them on the tile. The enclosure was essentially one side of the lab with a temporary wall separating the raptors from equipment and the door. Owen made his way toward the hallway while the girls made whiny chirps at his back.

Suddenly I realized he was coming my way and I rushed into the lab across the hall in an attempt to act natural. Conveniently there was a desk littered with stacks of papers that I busied myself with looking through. A picture stared from the wall a few inches above the pile I was awkwardly shuffling around; Danny stood with an Asian man with jet black hair old enough to be her dad and a girl that could've passed for someone in my grade level. Behind me I heard the door shut behind Owen and footsteps coming in my direction.

I held my breath in a mini panic attack when my chair was lightly pushed away from the desk. Owen was closer than he'd ever been before and he was going to murder me for stealing his food, I just knew it. For a moment, I held my head in my hand, trying desperately not to hyperventilate. I'm being ridiculous, I thought. The sound of crumpling paper filled the air. I turned my eyes in Owen's direction to see him stuffing an empty Doritos bag into the trash can under the desk. Once he was finished, the office chair was politely shoved back to its original place.

The sound of footsteps left the office and receded from the building. When the glass door leading to the outside world shut in a light thump, I burst into relieved laughter. It annoyed me to no end when I freaked out for no real reason. I had two too many injuries that needed time and thought for complete recovery.

There were only a few hours of energy left in my tired body, so I rushed across the hall to see the girls. In the short time since they had been born, each raptor had grown to the size of a rooster. All four greeted me with soft purrs and wide eyes. I mentally prepared myself for scratches to match Owen's as I knelt near the door of the enclosure.

Echo and Delta were the first to hop into my lap, but the last two played chase around me just as willingly. Blue and Charlie had quickly started enjoying my presence. Owen's favorite didn't hesitate to latch her pointy baby teeth onto my middle finger the first time I met her, but she couldn't resist the curiosity once I brought out a cheap lazer pointer for her sisters to play with. Since that first day, Blue's company came more willingly, but her trust still faltered occasionally if she felt like I was too close.

Eventually I decided to join in on the game of chase. At first I only made lazy paws at Charlie's tail while she zoomed circles around me, but the effort slowly progressed into running after her. Once I caught Charlie, I scooped her up in my arms and planted sloppy kisses on her head. She made playful chirps at me as if she understood the gesture as affectionate. Soon her sisters wanted in on the action and all three jumped me. Shickingly, the girls began shoving their mouths against my skin repeatedly. No teeth were bared and no hostility was shown; if anything, it tickled.

I had to stop for a moment as I lay belly up on the tile floor to watch the bizarre action before I recognized it as mimicking me. The urge to giggle was too strong to resist. My little laughs were messy and most likely unattractive, but they were natural. It was almost as abnormal as the girls trying to kiss me. For a moment, I let them love on me before I gave each of my babies a smooch good night and made for the door. As my hand wrapped around the knob to escape, the girls made vocals that were the whiniest I had ever heard from them. The sound tugged at my heartstrings, causing my reach to stop like I was a puppet. I glanced back at them watching me with those huge inquisitive eyes that none of them had grown into yet.

"I'll be back tomorrow girls," I replied in the most loving voice I could manage.

Sideways, I slipped into the hall and kept my eyes on them the entire time. Once the door was shut, I watched the girls slowly adjust to my absence. They played as if they weren't troubled, reassurring me that they would be fine if I left for the night. I had never been so concerned about a living being in my life. A love for animals was one thing, but a maternal bond was a completely different subject.

It was then that I knew I had to talk to Owen; I wouldn't always be able to sneak in to visit them without consequences if I didn't work out other arrangements. If living practically alone had taught me anything at all it was how to get what I wanted.

After I felt sure about the girls not being too upset about not having a human on duty, I turned to leave. Thousands of stars lit the night sky along with dim street lights that lined the pavement. I could see the hotel in front of the apartments across the gigantic tank that made the walk much longer. With a slight sigh, I began the journey. A warm breeze rubbed against my skin that was still cold from being inside and the cuts from the girls' claws burned. I shivered half from the sensation; the other half came after I noticed footsteps fall in next to mine.

"Hey Kali," he greeted me confidently.

"Hi Owen. Want to go for a drink?" I asked bluntly. There was no point in hiding the bloody scratches practically striping my bare legs or the bikini bottom I was still wearing from swimming with Mosa.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. You might need these though," he replied as he offered me the pair of pants that I couldn't find earlier.

"What could you possibly have wanted with these?" I questioned as I put the pants back on.

"Danny thought we might be the same size," Owen teased as we continued our walk. He was over six foot and I was only a few inches above five with a big butt. The idea of a huge man like Owen trying to squeeze into my tiny pants got a snicker out of me.

We stopped at the first restaurant with alcohol that was in the direction we were walking. Although I only asked about drinks, we ended up with a booth a menus for dinner since neither of us had eaten much. The silence between us grew to be uncomfortable as I remembered that this wasn't any friendly date.

I didn't want to get into an argument in front of anyone, so I waited to speak until the waiter had taken our orders and disappeared. Owen must have felt the discomfort too, because he started talking the second the other man was gone.

"The girls won't always be the way they are now; they're wild animals," he stated plainly.

"I don't disagree," I replied just as simply.

"Then why go see them every night?" he asked.

"The same reason you would if you didn't already have obligations to take care of them; I got attatched and visa versa," I admitted.

There was a pause as the gears in Owen's head almost visibly began turning.

"Has Danny told you about imprinting?" he questioned.

I shook my head in response as our waiter briefly appeared with our drinks. My chocolate mudslide was picture perfect and Owen's looked like alcoholic tea.

"Imprinting is when someone is the first living thing an animal sees when it's born. The goal is to make a strong bond in the first minutes of their life," Owen explained before taking a gulp of his drink and continuing," You imprinted on two of the girls, so it would be tricky to make you disappear without them noticing."

"So does that mean I can keep visiting them?" I asked with my hopes seeping into my voice. From what Owen said, I began to realize the situation was much more in my favor than I anticipated.

He nodded and the biggest smile I've probably ever had spread across my face. It was like sleeping with a stranger without the custody battle over the baby. I could have gotten up to hug him, but I decided against it. The anticipation of an argument had almost made me forget that I was in a half-fancy restaurant with a pretty attractive date.

"Just don't let me catch you with them if I'm not there," he finished.

A small part of me wanted to point out that he went in without any help or supervision, but I wasn't about to upset the man that controlled if I got to see my babies or not.

Time flew after the seriousness of the evening faded away. Owen told me about his service in the Navy and I shared what few memories in my shorter life that I thought would interest him. We ate some point in between story time, cheesy jokes, sarcasm, and ordering more drinks. I had far underestimated the power of a few mudslides. Of course, I didn't realize how drunk I was until we were about to leave.

Owen was already standing when I stumbled out of my side of the booth. The only reason I hadn't kissed the floor was because my date caught me quick enough. My giggles were impulsive in my apology to Owen, but he only laughed with me. I wouldn't have been able to walk straight without his support. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind taking me back to Claire's apartment.

"Are you sure you're legal to drink?" he asked with an unconvinced laugh.

"Sure I'm not," I answered in a fit of giggles.

My drunken response probably confused him, but in truth I wasn't even finished with high school yet. The ID I used for most things said I was 21; it was a fake that I had made when I heard my dad was a regular at a bar near our trailer. I had never been caught, so I must have done a good job.

The walk home took much longer drunk, but eventually we made it. I unlocked the door with a shaky hand and turned to say goodbye to Owen. Although I wasn't thinking straight, if he was tipsy, he hid it from me well.

"Are you going to fall on your ass between here and your bed?" he questioned with an expression of slight concern on his face.

"The couch is right there," I explained with a point toward the door.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow, if you aren't too hungover to see the girls," he replied.

Owen leaned down to my level and closed the gap between us. His quick good night kiss slowly began to escalate. One of his hands was tangled in my hair and the other wrapped around my waist to bring me closer. For a few moments we stayed that way before I started pulling him toward the door. To my surprise, Owen let me pull away from him like his feet were glued to the carpet in the hallway. I stood looking confused for a second before he answered the unasked question.

"Maybe when you can walk in a straight line again."

I blushed in embarrassment with my hand on the door knob.

"Good night," I giggled awkwardly as he started down the hallway.

"Good night Kali," Owen answered.

* * *

 **I couldn't figure out how I wanted these two to meet for the first time,**

 **but my 4 am mind likes the way it came out.**

 **To answer a few questions, Danny is lesbian and we're a few years from the I Rex**

 **(but Jurassic World opens soon)**

 **I hope you enjoyed :)**


	4. Chapter 3

The first glimmers of sunlight were there to meet my overly sensitive eyes when I woke up. Something in the way the light settled over the sky reminded me of the opening scene from Jaws. I yawned and stretched before a pounding headache set in. For a while I sat there to adjust to the pain while I thought about the previous night. My cheeks started heating up at the memories. In spite of myself, I giggled about almost falling face-first out of the booth. I guess I can't have a date without doing something embarrassing, I mused.

A moment or two later, I got up and headed to the kitchen. Like every morning before, I made coffee before I started breakfast. Once I had a cup ready for Claire, I headed to wake her up. Her bedroom was very simply decorated in neutral colors and little personality. To anyone else, it would've looked like an empty place for a workaholic to rest their head in between shifts, but it reminded me of home. I sat on the edge of the bed to wait while Claire stretched into a sitting position.

She took the cup of coffee without a word. I couldn't help myself from laughing on the inside about her early morning state. Claire was normally matter of fact and cold, but the appearance of an addict to a drug named sleep was much different. Her orange hair was a mangled bird's nest and her eyes were half open. Claire's body hunched over the cup of coffee as if it was the only thing holding her up.

I gave her a few minutes to come to her senses while I returned to the kitchen to finish making breakfast. Tibbers waited patiently near a bowl on the floor with a wagging tail. When the food was done and cool enough to eat, I loaded down three plates until the remains fit nicely into the dog dish without spilling over. Eventually a well dressed redhead joined me at the table.

"Good morning Kalina. Thank you for the coffee," Claire greeted formally as she sat down across from me. I eyed her with evident irritation at the mention of my full name.

"Sorry. I forgot," Claire muttered without catching sight of my annoyed face.

I shrugged her mistake away and gestured for her to sit down to eat. After six years, I still remembered the way Claire liked her breakfast: no butter on the pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, crunchy bacon, and chocolate milk. We ate in silence until she disrupted it.

"You asked for a job in the park as one of your conditions. There's one opening in a bed and breakfast just outside the resort. The woman who was going to be living there passed away yesterday," Claire stated plainly.

"I thought the hotel was the only place safe to stay?" I asked curiously.

"The entire island is safe, otherwise we'd be shut down. Our bed and breakfasts exist for usage of celebrity guests or others who don't want the traditional vacation experience," she explained.

House work was no skin off my shoulders, but simply imagining the constant chore of dealing with people who would probably be rude if I didn't help them was difficult. In all honesty, I was better at getting into trouble than being of any assistance. I'm sure the discomfort oozing from my thoughts leaked onto my face because suddenly my sister was talking again.

"All you would have to do is live there and answer their questions about the park when needed. It's no different than staying here," Claire clarified.

"Sounds like a deal," I answered in a tone as empty as Claire's. The need to be alone with our work and our life was mutual between us; it was a feeling our oldest sister would never be able to understand.

"Zara will work out the details with you when she gets here," she concluded.

It wasn't long after that when Claire's heels clicked across the tile in the kitchen and the front door shut behind her. After finishing my meal, I gathered the last plate in foil and scribbled a note to its recipient on top that read "Sorry for stealing your food -K." I hurried to gather the luggage I had only just finished unpacking a few days before.

The clock beside the bed in Claire's room sounded the alarm that she was going to be late for work, but the only person left to shut it off was me. Zara's knock at the door came not long after and I was there to answer it with everything I needed ready to go.

"Where's Claire? She's going to be late!" Zara exclaimed.

"I woke her up an hour ago; she already left," I replied nonchalantly," What exactly are the details about the house?"

Zara was noticeably surprised that Claire was early, but she quickly changed the subject to answering my question. I gathered up my things and Tibbers as we headed out.

I had almost forgotten about the plate of breakfast that I carried for Owen until I spotted the hatchery. Zara took Tibbers' leash and I left my suitcase by the door while I rushed down the hallway. As usual, Owen was already playing with the girls. For a moment, I stopped to watch before leaving my contribution to his meals on top of his lunch box next to the glass. There was no need to interrupt the cuteness with an awkward moment.

Further down the hall I ventured to find Danny. Chances were, Owen had already told her about the previous night, but I was curious to know what she thought. Through the day she usually helped with the sciency things going on in the labs, but everyone was working without her. The last place I thought to check was Mosa's room. I was on my way in that direction when I spotted crimson splatters all over the glass. My feet froze to the spot before they allowed me to inch closer. Don't scream. Whatever you see, whatever you do: don't scream, I told myself silently.

A table with lab equipment on top was partially blocking my view of the room, but from what I could see there was nobody inside. Mosa wasn't in the pool either, so if something had happened, it was over with by the time I got there. One of the red splotches looked a lot like a hand print, so much so that I held my hand up to the glass to compare.

Out of my peripheral vision I saw something bright red lunge at me on the other side of the glass. Danny was still in her swim suit wet with water and had enough blood flowing from a wound on her neck to drown in. I tripped over my own feet trying to back away from the sight with my screams filling the hatchery. Teeth marks were striped across her throat and I only just caught sight of them before Danny fainted into the floor.

Within a matter of seconds, I was surrounded by dozens of people who were suddenly rushing to help my green-haired friend. Once I managed to stop screaming, I couldn't control the hyperventilating or the urge to run out of there as fast as I could. Before anyone had the chance to notice the panicked state I was in, I rose from my spot on the floor and hurried back to the front door where I left Zara.

"We need to go," I stated firmly in between gulps of air.

"What happened to you?" Zara asked with a single eyebrow raised from her phone.

"Doesn't matter. Take me to the house," I rasped.

Zara shrugged and began leading me on the path we were originally taking. I focused on my breathing to get it under control, then it only took a few minutes to even out. It wasn't long before we had walked to my new house nestled in a small group of trees between a creek and a valley. Apparently there weren't many details to be shared since Zara stayed glued to her phone during most of the journey.

I was given a set of house keys and an envelope of money to get settled in before Zara left me alone in the two-story dream house. The inside was just as luxurious as the outside. There were six bedrooms and six bathrooms, more than I had seen in my life. Tibbers retreated through a doggy door into the backyard while I did my exploring.

In several rooms there were small cages filled with a variety of strange creatures. At first I couldn't decide if I had only never seen them before or if the lab had other projects besides major attractions going on, but after seeing all of my new pets I decided it was definitely the latter.

A sudden barking startled me from inspecting the other house occupants. I followed the noise to the backyard only to roll my eyes when I spotted Tibbers splashing around a dainty pond filled with colorful fish. Once I was outside again, I noticed the sound of dinosaurs in the background. I hadn't expected to be able to hear them; the girls were stealthy most of the time, but apparently others were more vocal. Isla Nublar is full of pleasant surprises, I realized as I went back inside.

It didn't take long to get settled into the fully furnished house and there wasn't much to do with the time left in the day. I had no intention of returning to the hatchery after what had happened, so I picked up the phone to call Elise for the first time since I left our hometown. Normally we talked every day at least once, even through the summer. I sat through each ring with growing confusion until her voicemail answered. Elise was usually the one running over to my house when I didn't pick up her calls. I put my phone away without leaving a voicemail.

With a shrug, I moved on to find something else to do. Tibbers' leash caught my eye and I glanced into the back yard to see him still preoccupied with the fish pond. I wouldn't be able to walk him in the resort once the park opened. After grabbing a map off of the table in the entry way, I headed out on an adventure of my own.

For hours I wandered about the island, scoping out the possible trails to take Tibbers on. Occasionally I came across a herd of herbivores that I carefully avoided. The gyrosphere valley, a creek, and the aviary had all passed before the forest opened up onto a cliff hundreds of feet above the ocean.

It was the most beautiful spot I'd seen on my walk, so gorgeous that I almost didn't notice a dark building that looked as if it was the one thing in the park built more for functionality than catching tourist attention. A heavily barred space connected to the inside of the enclosure where I could see foliage growing inside the larger portion of the cage. Casually I wondered what kind of dinosaur they planned to put in the gigantic building before beginning my return journey.

I had crossed most of the island for the second time that day when the sun had ducked almost completely below the horizon. Soreness had crept into my injured leg and there was no denying the empty whining in my stomach since my breakfast was long gone. For a while I limped through the foliage in the direction of the house until I stumbled over a tree root the threw me into the dirt on my stomach.

Right as I was about to groan and pick myself up, a tiny hum interrupted me. To my surprise, a pair of inquisitive eyes met mine. I observed the baby triceratops only for a moment before I got back to my feet. Every intention of leaving circled through my brain, but they were all flushed away when the triceratops backed into the dirt walls of the nest with frightened wails. I passively wondered what dinosaur meat tasted like in my state of growing hunger and suppressed a malevolent desire to scare the baby before I left.

With each step toward the triceratops, its wails got louder and more panicked until I took a step passed it outside the nest walls. The baby got quieter as I watched it from over my shoulder. Since I was alone, I smiled and stuck my tongue out at the cautious little creature. A larger triceratops appeared from the valley and answered the baby with deeper whale-like hums.

I backed away from the nest as quickly and carefully as I could, but apparently it was already too late for that. The adult triceratops charged with everything it had and I didn't wait to see what it would do if it caught me. Any sense of direction I had was lost as I tore through the foliage as fast as my legs would go. I was running faster than I had in any of my races in school and the triceratops' heavy footsteps crunched most everything in its path.

Slowly I began to realize that I was running again, which the doctors told me would be next to impossible. At some point the triceratops stopped giving chase, but by then I had already forgotten I was trying to escape from something. The forest seemed to part for me as I ran without knowing where I was going until eventually sand replaced the ground and gave away into water.

While I floated several meters from the beach, I watched the sun set out over the ocean. The water felt nice after such a long hot day. Another hour passed as I rested and the moon took its place with thousands of stars in the sky. Little did I know, there was another predator in the water circling beneath me.

Suddenly the dark became creepy and chills shot up my spine. I started treading water while I glanced at my surroundings. I could see every detail of the shady jungle and the ocean sparkling in the moonlight. Strangely, nothing was out of place. The scene looked like a typical island paradise, but I trusted the feeling in my gut. When I went to swim back to the beach I felt my toes brush against something under me. Before I had time to react, sharp pains shot through my foot and I was yanked beneath the surface.

Just as quickly the jaws released my limb and let me swim away. I made it back to the sand to survey my wound. Little teeth marks lined a half circle around my foot with a slight trickle of blood dripping from each one. I searched the waves for my assailant only to catch a glimpse of a fin disappearing into the surf. A sigh escaped my mouth as I realized my first injury in Jurassic World wasn't even from a dinosaur.

I was hungry, tired, and hurt, so I finally decided I needed to go back to the house. Only then did I remember that I didn't know where I was. With a few giggles at myself, I started down the coast of the island and resolved to get to know the map better when I got another one.

* * *

 **I felt like this chapter was a bit uneventful while I was writing it,**

 **but there are reasons for everything that happened.**

 **Promise.**

 **I hope you enjoyed. :)**


	5. Chapter 4

The sun was rising again by the time I reached the hatchery. To my surprise, I had even beat Owen to the raptor room. His warning about catching me alone with the girls remained clear, so I lingered outside the glass to wait for him. It was bed time for our babies that nestled into a pile together in the floor. Owen had said nothing about conversing with them from elsewhere, so I sang to them while they huddled up to sleep. It wasn't difficult to see that their sensitive ears could recognize my voice as they purred and chirped affectionately in response.

Eventually Owen came down the hallway with a grim expression contrary to the mischievous grin he normally donned. I was confused and anxious, but I only stopped singing as he approached. He stood next to me in silence for a few moments before speaking.

"Did you hear about Danny?" Owen asked almost sadly.

"Yesterday I only stopped by to drop off your breakfast; I left before I saw her," I answered honestly. In truth, I only remembered leaving the plate and almost running out of the hatchery without knowing what was so frightening about an empty hallway.

"What happened?" I questioned with a sudden worry creeping into my voice.

"The other scientists found her a few feet from Mosa's pool in a swimsuit with her throat torn open," he explained grimly.

"Oh my God is she ok?" I demanded.

"She's fine. Just a few stitches in her neck, but she would be dead if she lost any more blood."

I tried to imagine Danny being the one involved an accident with one of the animals. Although technically I had already seen exactly what I was trying to picture, I couldn't wrap my head around the image. That same day I was wearing my bikini to swim with Mosa in the evening hours, it could have easily been me.

"ACU is moving Mosa into her tank in the resort tonight. It'll be safer for her and her handlers that way. I think we should do the same with the girls," Owen claimed.

"Where exactly will they be moving to?" I inquired.

"Their permanent enclosure on the east side of the island," he responded.

"That dark building on the cliffs that's barely a few times bigger than where they are now?"-Owen rolled his eyes-" It's hardly big enough for an animal-much less animalsssss-that can keep up with most motorized vehicles. They're meant to run"-Owen began to interrupt me, but I cut him off-" and hunt in open territory. And I hope you don't plan on feeding them Doritos when they're tall enough to look you in the eye-" I had every intention of continuing my rant, but Owen had other plans.

He had tried to make me stop talking to no avail. Without any sign of warning, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into a gentle kiss that was little more than a peck on the lips. I stood with wide eyes and blushing cheeks in a sudden silence.

"Pull your panties out of a knot, they're my girls too," Owen retorted with a playful smile. I realized how silly I sounded with a sigh and nodded in agreement that I was being unreasonable.

"Mosa almost killed Danny by herself and she isn't much bigger than the girls right now. Imagine if there had been four of her. You know the girls as well as I do, so I'll let you make the call. We're going to see Danny before tonight," Owen concluded.

I nodded even though I already knew what my decision would be. Awkwardly, I noticed Owen's arm still around my waist and the close proximity between us. As if he was reading my mind, I was released from his loose grip. The girls began to stir not long after, so we stopped to spend some time with them while we waited for visitor's hours at the hospital.

"Before the girls get shipped to the other side of the island, I have something I want to test out," I declared as I brought the resonating chamber from my pocket.

We stepped in to see our raptor babies as they woke up. A spot on the floor had my name on it, so I sat down with my legs stretched out in front of me. Owen leaned against the wall to my left and watched.

I mimicked their affectionate purring with the resonating chamber pressed to my lips. In the instant the noise started, the girls all perked up to see where it was coming from. They investigated the room for another raptor, but soon traced the new purring back to me. Once they figured out what was going on, they made chirping noises that I mimicked and the sound game was on. For each new vocal they made, I had one to match.

The girls looked like they enjoyed the new interaction, especially Blue. I had only a basic idea of what each sound meant, but at the time, that was all I needed. Within an hour or two, Owen helped me off the floor and we made our way to the ferry leaving the island.

It was strange to see so many people gathered in the city where the hospital was. Even a week was too long living in an empty theme park. Owen was in as much of a hurry as I was to get to Danny. It couldn't have been more than ten minuted before we were making our way through creepy white hallways with unhappy nurses and the occasional wounded patient stalking out of their rooms.

I hated hospitals, so I was the first one to barge through the door to see Danny reclined on a bed in a thin medical gown. She cracked an eye at the sound of someone coming inside and smiled once she caught sight of me. Danny dragged herself into a sitting position, but she wobbled from side to side in a groggy manner.

"Mosa got me pretty good, huh?" Danny inquired with a smirk.

I gave a nod as I surveyed the gnarly bite mark wrapped around her throat. The wound on her neck was clean, but it made the stitches look no less harsh. They were threaded through sensitive skin that begged for sympathy from my own. My spine tingled at the thought of how painful the wound itself had been.

"Battle scars are hot," she bragged with a playful smile.

"Danny! You could've died," I scolded.

She snickered," Yeah, I could have, but I didn't. Thanks for that."

"Thanks for what?" I asked with a roll of my eyes at her response.

"You're the one that found me before I bled out. I saw you screaming before I passed out," Danny answered.

I stared at her in confusion, as if the look on my face would explain the muddled thoughts in my head. Apparently it came close enough, because Danny's features slowly contorted to fit the same expression.

"You don't remember?" she questioned slowly, as if she didn't understand the meaning of what she was asking.

For a few moments I wracked my brain for an answer, but there just wasn't one there. Eventually I took a seat on the edge of Danny's bed with no words, not even a possibility falling from my lips. I went to cross my legs when Danny saw my bandaged foot.

"Whoa what happened to you?" she inquired curiously.

"I went swimming a little too late at night and a shark took a nibble. The woman at the first aid center in the resort said it must have been a reef shark or a bull. Whatever it was, was really small. I told her it pulled me under water, but she didn't think that was possible with the size of the bite. The bandage was just to make sure it doesn't get infected," I explained.

Once I began thinking about what we assumed was an encounter with a baby shark, other bloody memories started coming back to me. Danny was bleeding out all over the floor when I accidentally found her.

"I remember now. It was really horrific and there was blood everywhere. The last time I forgot was a year ago when I crashed my car into a tree with my parents in the back seat. My doctor said it would probably stop once I got older," I clarified.

Danny was speechless for a few moments, so I cleared my throat to change the subject. We talked about Owen and the raptors for the majority of our time. Danny thought it was a good idea to move the girls to their permanent enclosure before anyone else got hurt. She also nudged me with her elbow and harassed me about going on a date with Owen, which was to be expected from a friend like her. All through our conversation, the dark cloud of what happened floated around our shoulders.

Eventually the nurse rushed in speaking another language and Danny replied in the same dialect, so I took that as my sign to say goodbye. Owen had waited politely in the waiting room where he stood up when I greeted him with a wave.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" he asked.

"We have your honor. Let's get the girls to their new enclosure," I replied with a slight sigh.

* * *

 **Alright, I had to split this chapter into two parts because the second part is taking me wayy longer to perfect**

 **and I know I haven't updated in a long time.**

 **With that said, I hope you enjoyed :)**

 **PS. Jurassic World opens on the next update.**


	6. Chapter 5

Almost a year had passed since the girls had been moved to their enclosure and the opening of the park was only another day when it came. Everything seemed to fall into a routine: I woke up to tourists in my house in the morning, visited Danny in the hatchery, watched Owen struggle to train the girls, went home to make sure the tourists made it back safely, snuck in to see my babies, and did it all again the next day.

Night was already falling when I waved to Willow and Jaden Smith sitting on my couch. Tibbers' leash tugged against my wrist while I shut the front door and followed the mutt down a familiar path. I broke into a jog while Tibbers gave a grunt of displeasure as he did the same. On our shortcut through the woods, the only dinosaurs to speak of were lazy grazers who barely looked up as we passed.

Before long, we were standing before a huge black building with very few guards standing around. Occasionally there would be scientists lurking about to conduct research, but I knew there would be none that night. I threw up a peace sign to the nearest guard standing on the highest level of the building. The silhouette of his gun shifted to one side and he waved back. They were all accustomed to my secret routine. I made sure each of them received my own strict instructions to stand down unless the girls tried to escape.

I tied Tibbers to the outer door of the cage and went in alone. The inner gate still sat between my girls and me, but I stopped to look through it. Darkness of a night without a moon bathed the foliage in shadows, but strangely, I could make out what I was staring at. Blue had already spotted me from where she lurked in the bushes. The other girls were play fighting together in the sandy part of the enclosure.

I was reluctant to interrupt their play time, but I knew my time to be close with them was extremely limited. A buzzer sounded as the gate slowly rose from the ground and the girls dove for the bushes. Soon I was only a few feet from the foliage where three sets of eyes watched me as if I couldn't see them. The last pair had disappeared off to the side that they would probably attack from.

The resonating chamber was easier to use after practice, so I slipped it from my pocket and called to my girls. Deep purrs sounded from their hiding places, but they didn't move. A shadow lunged at me from the corner of my eye and I quickly turned to face it. Delta gave me a headbutt rough enough to knock me onto my back in the sand.

From the bushes, the other three girls appeared to stand over me ominously. All of a sudden four mouths lowered to my belly and mimicked the kisses that they still remembered. Giggles erupted from my lips, half in relief and half in my average happiness around them.

Owen and I had slowly developed completely different relationships with our girls. He struggled to maintain the position of the alpha and I taught the girls to hunt and play and care about each other. I can't say I disliked him; Owen respected the animals more than anyone else I knew, but he took his position too seriously.

Soon enough, the girls allowed me to get back onto my feet and we played games since there were very few other things to do. Chase, hide and seek, and wrestling were all worn out. That night I had come prepared with a package of balloons in my back pocket. At first I only blew up a single red one that I tossed toward Echo's feet. Charlie joined Echo in dropping down to sniff the new object before Blue went to tap the claw from one of her legs on the balloon. Almost instantly, rubbery red pieces scattered across the sand. The girls gave a hiss of surprise.

For a while, each balloon suffered a brutal death by claw or tooth. I almost laughed myself to death watching the girls stomp on the first few like over sized toddlers. Eventually they became more curious about the balloons than to pop them immediately. They tried to pick them up with their teeth, move them with their feet, and poke at them awkwardly with their tails, but each attempt resulted in a popped balloon. It was amazing to see them working out what they wanted to do.

Eventually, it was time to leave, so I picked up every last sliver of destroyed balloon. I even took an extra ten minutes to check each of the girls' teeth to make sure they weren't going to be eating any of them. Once my clean up was finished, I went back to my dog and we retraced our path home. The only thing I wasn't aware of, was an extra pair of eyes watching me disappear from my visit.

* * *

 **You guys probably hate me for my slow updates.**

 **I lost my inspiration for this story in the past couple of weeks,**

 **but it's beginning to come back a little bit.**

 **I'll try super hard to update more!**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Chapter 6

Steaming plates of breakfast food filled the table while the Smith family ate. I could smell the bacon from the front porch, where I sat drinking my coffee with Tibbers. After several minutes, Jada appeared to sit next to me. We talked about our plans for the day before her kids and her husband announced that they were ready to leave. I said my goodbyes for the morning with a wave. Having celebrities in my house, as Clare suggested, had turned out to be much nicer than I anticipated. After watching them set out to catch the monorail, I began my journey to the hatchery.

Once I arrived, I dodged the tourists and made sure not to disrupt their sense of amazement while they watched the scientists work. Carefully, I made my way toward the back of the building where Danny practically lived in the off-limits lab that was in charge of the genetics end of the dinosaurs. The team that worked in this section of the hatchery was much smaller than anywhere else in the park.

During most of my visits, Danny and Dr. Wu were the only ones present. That morning, like many others, I walked in when the two scientists stood together talking over a computer screen. At the sound of the door shutting behind me, my green-haired friend turned to greet me with a wave. The bite marks on her neck had healed nicely, but the doctors said the scars would remain there for the rest of her life. Still, the young scientist showed no dent in the enthusiasm with her work.

"The timing is just right Kali!" Danny exclaimed excitedly as she took my hand.

As usual, Dr. Wu didn't so much as glance in my direction. From what I had gathered, the two scientists were related in some way, but I couldn't understand how they could be so different. At every opportunity, Dr. Wu completely avoided me. Never once did I say anything rude or demeaning to the man, but he seemed like the generic genius who kept himself behind closed doors to make things happen quietly. When I thought of him in that light, I decided to leave him to do as he pleased.

"We have two new babies hatching today, but the guy who was supposed to imprint on them walked out at the last second. We didn't have time to find someone else," she explained while leading me to a section of the lab where secret dinosaurs, like the raptors, were hatched.

"Why are they back here instead of out front with the others?" I questioned, referring to the section where tourists could watch the herbivores come alive.

Each one of the dinosaurs in the park, with exceptions to the herbivores, had someone who imprinted on them at birth and maintained a lasting relationship. That way, in case of an emergency, every dinosaur who was dependent on humans had at least one person that had their best interest in mind.

"Firstly, they're carnivores. Secondly, they're a surprise for the investors," Danny responded with a tone as if she was unboxing a Christmas gift for me.

"What kind of carnivores?" I asked apprehensively.

Danny only rolled her eyes and smiled at my cautious nature before sending me into a room that reminded me of the girl's hatching. Only two eggs rested on a table under a heat lamp. They were already as big as an Iphone 6, unlike the tiny shells that the raptors had crushed on their way out. I didn't mind doing favors for Danny, but I couldn't stop myself from wondering what was about to imprint on me.

It might have been hours that I sat there with nothing to do except tap my foot hoping that the eggs would start to wiggle. I listened and waited and leaned my head against the table near the unborn carnivores. No position gave a feeling of comfort, so I continuously tried to find one that felt nice. After more time passed, I realized I was only rolling around impatiently every couple of minutes. Then I made it a game to sit still and stare at the eggs for as long as I could. Eventually, I bored with that too.

"Danny these these dinosaurs are going to hatch today right?" I inquired through the one-way glass.

The only answer I received was a crisp crack from one of the eggs on the table. I turned to see a claw sticking out of the shell, then the rest of its arm swept away the parts in its way. Raptors had the same structure to their hands, but she was much bigger and stronger than the girls when they were born. With one more scratch, the tiny arms revealed a large amber eye that surveyed me carefully. The mystery dinosaur made creepy little purrs in my direction that were much deeper than the sounds any baby raptor would make.

Within a few more scratches and kicks, the dinosaur was free of its shell staring at me inquisitively. Her wrinkly skin was as white as snow; the contrast with her dark eyes was gorgeous. I notices hair-like feathers growing out of her spine and more at her elbows. For a moment we merely inspected each other before I decided to scoop her into my hands. I brought her close to my face as she observed every ounce of me. With a slight laugh, I realized I had never seen a dinosaur with elevator eyes before.

Suddenly, she sank every last tooth in her mouth onto my index finger. With a slight gasp of surprise, I almost let go of the tiny carnivore. As quickly as it had happened, she released my finger. Danny had told me before that sometimes bites were part of imprinting on a human.

As if she was already getting ideas about going places, the dinosaur sprang from my hands onto my shoulder. I cringed at her claws digging into my skin through the thin material of my shirt. She wasn't satisfied either, so she carefully slid down my chest and settled into a spot between my breasts. Only her head was sticking out of the v-neck by the time she made herself comfortable.

I watched thin bloody scratches appear on the skin where she dug her claws in to slide. Sarcastically, I thought about how well they went with the rest of the accidental cuts that the girls had given me. Her creepy little purrs resumed once she observed the world from her new vantage point.

"I think I'll call you Kou; it means happiness," I informed her softly.

As I spoke, Kou glanced up toward me. I couldn't help but marvel at what a smart little hatchling she was. The second egg had been so quiet for so long that I had forgotten it was there until a tapping sound caught my attention. Kou stopped purring and watched her sibling with me. Ripples showed through the thin shell of the egg, but it was quite a while before the baby dinosaur made any progress.

For several minutes, she struggled to escape her confinements. The first body part to finally emerge from the shell was a leg. Then the second kicked itself free. Lastly, her tail broke the egg and her lower body slid out. Still, her head seemed to be stuck inside. Giggling slightly, I reached down to help her.

The second one was identical to her sister until her caramel eyes spotted me. Suddenly, her albino scales changed to match the pink coloring in my hair. My eyes widened, but my surprise reached no further than that. Scientists could really make any kind of creature they wanted, or so it seemed.

Pinky purred as loud as a motor when I picked her up. My index finger was still bloody and oozing from Kou's bite, but the second born licked it clean with noisy slurps. I couldn't get over how cute she was. When she was finished, she stared at my face and got comfortable in my hands.

"How about Mana? Then we'll have 'happiness'"-I stroked Kou's silent head-" and 'love'. That's all anybody needs, right?" I asked, just so they could hear my voice.

Carefully, I placed Mana back under the heat lamp. When I tried to get Kou out of my shirt, she bit another one of my fingers. Each time I made an attempt, I earned another wound. Finally, when both of my hands were completely bloodied, I decided I was going to have to come up with a plan.

I leaned my chest against the table just enough to keep from squishing Kou. My hope was that she would get out on her own, but she just laid there on her side. In response to her defiance, I stuck my hands through the bottom of my shirt and decided to push her out. The second I touched her spine, Kou turned to snap at my fingers. Quickly, I retreated my hands and thought of something else. My right reached in from the front while my left came in from the back.

For a few seconds, Kou spun back and forth, snapping at both sides. When she realized she couldn't fend me off forever, she latched every limb she had onto my shirt. Even her teeth clamped the material for dear life. Unfortunately for my v-neck, I didn't notice until I was pulling her away from my chest and the rips were so loud that they sounded fake. Once Kou was off of me, I got off the table before she got any other ideas.

To my surprise, I left most of my top wrapped up in Kou's claws or tangled in her teeth. I made sure she wasn't trapped in the material before I left the room. Danny was so wrapped up in her work with Dr. Wu that neither of them noticed that I had left the mystery dinosaurs.

I leaned against the glass door for support as I brought my hands out in front of me to assess the damage. Blood streamed down my wrists from the countless cuts all over my palms. Nothing in the park had ever done anything like that to me, not even the fully grown raptors.

The reputation of Jurassic World was based off of not only our dinosaurs, but the way its employees handled their injuries. Mosa's bite on Danny was the first incident, but it was far from the last. It was too risky to try to make it to the first aid building without scaring the tourists, so I settled for sliding down the door into a sitting position.

"Hey Danny, would you grab me some bandages and a shirt?" I requested.

After seeing my wounds, she rushed off to gather supplies to fix my hands. Patiently, I waited for her while I watched the crimson liquid flow. At that moment, I had the overwhelming feeling that the white dinosaur wasn't finished causing trouble.

* * *

 **Can you guess the species of the new babies?**

 **I haven't forgotten about those eyes last chapter either!**

 **Look forward to seeing them again soon, though you might not know it. ;)**

 **I hope you enjoyed! :)**


	8. Chapter 7

That night I began to find out that there was nothing the girls didn't notice. Once the gate was raised, I was suddenly bombarded by all of them at once, sniffing and prodding at my bandaged hands with their noses. They shrieked in what I assumed was sympathy. I mocked some of the hisses I'd heard them make when they were hurt with the resonating chamber I had kept as they grew up. Apparently, they understood and bolted off to play without me. I didn't mind. Instead I returned to open the gate when a familiar voice called my name.

"Kali, aren't you supposed to be running a B&B now?" Owen called from the level where I was supposed to supervise the girls. His arms were crossed in front of him like a disappointed parent instead of a co worker. I responded, but kept my gaze fixed on the rising gate.

"I am running a B&B, but I'm also looking after my girls," I answered calmly as I shut the gate behind myself.

"You're _looking after_ them? Every night this week? From inside the cage?" he inquired as if his suspicions were already confirmed. I grinned, assuming I was already caught red-handed.

"Better than from a safety pedestal," I countered playfully, sticking my tongue out at him as I approached to lean against the railing. A strained laugh escaped his lips.

"I'm sure you'll think it's better when the rest of you is bandaged up like your hands," he responded in a dull tone. At this remark, I turned toward him and put my hands on my hips.

"Danny talked me into imprinting on two new carnivores. The girls didn't do this to me. I don't expect you to understand our relationship, but if they're going to kill me, that's my business," I replied sternly. Owen stood up straight as if he was sizing me up or trying to intimidate me.

"If two babies did that to you, what do you think four adult velociraptors are capable of?" he warned. I rolled my eyes and leaned against the railing to watch the girls playing what appeared to be hide and seek. I pitied them. Their cage was small enough that they could plainly see each other no matter where they went and there was very little room to run.

"We have yet to see what they're capable of," I murmured wistfully as I made my way back toward my home.

* * *

Dear readers,

I apologize for my lack of updates the past two years. I got caught up with high school, but now that I'm graduating, I have more time to work. In all honesty, I forgot about this story and began working on some original work. I will be rereading Kali Dearest and picking up where I left off soon. This chapter is really short, but I wanted to get something out to you guys and let y'all know I'm still alive. In the meantime, feel free to look me up on FictionPress under the same name.

-Amy


	9. Chapter 8

Owen couldn't stop me from doing what I wanted; a fact that he was eventually forced to learn through trial and error. First he had tried again to talk me out of spending time in the cage with the girls, then he tried to get the guards to prohibit me from passing. After the second failure, he had something else in mind.

It was another late night when I arrived at the enclosure with a bag of several squeaky toys. I waved to the guards, who ducked their heads and pretended they didn't see me. My eyes drifted from here to there, checking for any signs of Owen's presence. When I found none, I grinned triumphantly at my apparent success. I approached the gate and I immediately deflated. Standing in my way was Owen with his back to my direction as he looked into the cage.

"I'm not letting you in there anymore," he stated firmly.

A roll of my eyes was the only answer as I attempted to push past him. He latched onto my arm. I tried to rip it away from him, but he held tight, staring at me with unwavering sternness. Silently, a glare began to spread across my face and set deep into my features. Then I pulled myself closer to his taller frame, only an inch away from our noses touching. Our chests were nearly pressed together.

"You can't stop me," I warned, pronouncing each word slowly and in a threatening tone.

A buzzer began to sound as the gate opened slowly. At that distance, I had been close enough to reach behind him and press the button while I was talking. Owen began to turn to close the door, but on instinct I jabbed my left knee into his tone stomach. He doubled over as pain shot up my leg. I hissed, but limped out to see the girls while Owen collected himself from my assault. All of a sudden, as the girls gathered around me, I became unable to keep weight on my weak leg and collapsed in the sand.

Worried shrieks filled the air as Echo attempted to nudge me to my feet. When I couldn't get up, they began to sniff at my leg as if they could figure out what was wrong. I groaned quietly. Suddenly, as if they realized what had happened, their eyes locked onto Owen. With a primal hiss, Delta launched herself toward him with her mouth wide open. Thankfully for Owen, he had already been closing the gate and the young raptor slammed into it with harsh noises spilling from her throat. He breathed a sigh of relief as she returned to my side and ceased her attempt at attacking him. I glowered at him from the circle of raptors, fully realizing that I might have just destroyed his trust with the girls. Then I opened my bag and began to show the girls what I had brought them to play with.

* * *

 **Another short update, but I decided to split the chapters up a bit more so you guys could have content quicker.**

 **The next update is already in the works.**

 **Do you think Owen will give up on Kali?**

 **Hope you enjoyed! :)**


	10. Chapter 9

Claire was not something I would ever dream of waking up to, yet as I roamed downstairs the next morning with my hair still a mess as I began the journey of making coffee, I found her standing in my house fully clothed tapping her heel against the hardwood. Her face held every element of worry and annoyance.

"Good mor-"

"What do you mean good morning? Those raptors could have killed you!" Claire interjected harshly.

"It's too early for yelling, Claire. Can we talk about this over coffee like civilized people?" I questioned with a yawn. I began to dig for coffee filters as Claire continued.

"No! We're not talking about the weather or how lovely the beach is. We're talking about your safety!"

"Yes, I'm aware," I responded as I turned the coffee pot on.

"Why are you so calm about this? They're dinosaurs, Kali! They could turn on you at any given moment!" she cried, following me across the kitchen. At this remark, I turned on my heel to face her.

"Did Owen tell you how long I've been with the girls?" I began venomously. For only a few seconds, I waited for a response that I did not receive. "As long as he has. Were you aware of that? They haven't turned on me yet and, trust me, they have had plenty of great opportunities. I was also asked to imprint on two new carnivores, which I did. Were you aware of that? I could have been dead doing something I like many times before you ever asked what I've been up to and yet _now_ you're worried?"

"Kali, look at your hands!" she pressed.

"Yes, and look at my leg!" I countered," I was just driving when that happened and it cost two people their lives. I don't want to go down doing something mundane! I want to be doing something I love! I want to live before I die! Now sit down and drink a damn cup of coffee with me!"

Claire was caught off guard by this, but she obediently sat down at the table in the kitchen as I brought her a steaming cup and one for myself. I took a deep breath before beginning to tell her all about the girls. She listened intently for one of the first times in my experience as I told her about every quirk each of them had and every favorite game and every small adventure we had together.

Eventually, we lost track of time and the visitors staying in my house wandered down before I had even thought about making breakfast. Claire, of course was late for an appointment and had to rush off as I apologized and got to work at the stove. It didn't take long to get the family out the door and go on to my next task of the day.

* * *

There was a hostile air between the newborn carnivores that I had never felt around the girls. From the second day I came to visit them, every nip or claw directed at the other was not playful or light-hearted, but out of frustration and jealousy. No matter how much attention I gave each of them, the other always felt like the first had gotten more. They were like two children who refused to listen to their mother.

As the days became weeks and weeks became months, the two grew triple their size. Not only that, but Kou began to get increasingly violent. Her scratches began to go deeper and her bites lasted longer. I wasn't safe from her outbursts either. Over time, it became more and more difficult to conceal the wounds she inflicted upon me. Unlike the girls, I could easily tell that there was a need for a new enclosure. In fact, I urged anyone who would listen that it needed to be finished soon, before something happened.

"I don't know, Danny. I don't think they can last two more weeks in here. Have you seen my arms lately?" I inquired as I wrung my hands. They too were full of bite marks, but the weather was much too hot for gloves.

"Construction is going as fast as it can, Kali. I don't know what to tell you," Danny replied. The concern was evident in her eyes, but nothing could be done. I sighed, glancing toward my feet helplessly.

A screech from a nearby room filled the building and caught my attention immediately. I broke into a jog down the hall. Nothing in the world could have prepared me for what I was about to see. Screaming bloody murder was all I remembered. Mana was on the floor shrieking as Kou tore into her leg with her teeth. Blood spewed from the open wound as Kou swallowed chunk by chunk of her sister.

"Danny get the vet NOW!" I shouted, busting into a case filled with tasers strong enough to knock out my babies.

As quickly as I could get through the door, the taser was on Kou's skin. She stumbled backward, but she was still conscious. So I hit her again with tears in my eyes. And again. And again. I shocked her until she was lying limply on the floor. Then, as if my bones turned to mush, I collapsed at Mana's side and put pressure on her wounds. She gave off a low noise that could only be compared to a groan.

The vet, a clean cut African man, arrived moments later. I sat by his side crying as he attempted to stitch together the shreds of Mana's skin that remained. A team entered to remove Kou from my sight. At the time, I hoped I would never see her again, but I knew that would be too good to be true.

* * *

 **What do you think?**

 **Did Mana survive? Will Kali hate Kou?**

 **I hope y'all enjoyed!**

 **Y'all have been pretty quiet, but the favs and follows are still going up, so I assume I'm doing okay.**


End file.
